


SAINTS (This Side of Paradise)

by StarryCorridor



Series: The Other Side of Paradise [2]
Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: 4th wall madness, Alcohol, Eventual Fluff, Glitch Text, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Love Triangles, Minor Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Minor Violence, Obsession, Obsessive Behavior, One-Sided Attraction, Short, Song Lyrics, Suicide Attempt, TSOP isn't a happy series, aka one chapter of fluff ??? maybe two, repeated information
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-11 16:07:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15975779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryCorridor/pseuds/StarryCorridor
Summary: (Spinoff of This Side of Paradise, context support! Read This Side of Paradise first.)He jumped, and the world bowed their heads.His friends called each struggle to cope,his family mourned and mourned,but something isn't right.





	1. This was Paradise...

Hey, it's Pilot! Just wanted to let you know, SAINTS is the mid-story spin-off to This Side of Paradise. It is separated because hey, TSOP was about Tord, Paul, and Patryck. Not focusing on Tord's friends and their feelings. As well, it would... ruin a certain someone's moment. He can't speak in Tord's story.  
Anyway! If you have read This Side of Paradise(which can be found on my profile or in the series tagged to this story), feel free to continue!   
I'm not going to be all to frequent with updates, we have a storm coming and it may knock out power. I will post all the chapters if that is the case! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt has been having migraines a lot lately... I think Edd has something to do with it.

    He had everything.

    As a classic rich kid, Matt could never say he was bored. He'd get all the attention and respect all for his money lining those designer jeans he wore. Matt never had to worry in his life, all he had to do was smile and let them give into those puppy dog eyes. Anyone would fall to his feet. 

    Besides one person, and his name was Tom. As boys, Tom never seemed too impressed by Matt's rich life. He always compared Matt to a chocolate truffle that was often too rich to accept or take. After the accident, Tom compared Matt to a gun with angel wings glued on it. To Tom, it never matted what Matt looked like or said, the ginger was a disaster waiting to happen, again. After a while, Matt gave up trying to bother Tom and opted to bug Edd and Tord instead. Edd took a little pouting and usually, Tord agreed to anything with a chipped "Sure! Then maybe we can," followed by a suggestion. 

    Matt often wished more people were like his parents and Tord. Just willing and accepting, trying to make life happy and easy for everyone. Actually, did he even know Tord's goals in life? Or why Tord was so flexible anyway? Matt felt it was wrong to fret about how nice Tord often was, and he never stopped to ask it would be that way forever. He figured all people never changed and always had good intentions. 

    "Oh," he'd cry one day with a wish tied to his ginger tongue. His maid's come to his aid or his mother would place money in his hands and smile. Even when talking to his friends he'd keep his high amounts of optimism.

    "Have you ever worked a day in your life?" Tom mumbled, sipping at his flask as he leaned back on the couch, "I mean it's pretty clear Edd and I do." No one really calls drinking yourself to death a job, Tom. Maybe him but that's just about it.

    Matt lifted his head and stared straight at the void eyed man in confusion, "but working would wrinkle my flawless face! I don't want that!" Even with Tom's unsettling look, Matt was confident he'd impress the blue man. This world seemed to revolve around how Tom saw him, regardless of who liked it or not. Matt may not be the brightest, but he knew he owed Tom everything for... some reason he didn't quite know or remember.

    Edd was the best to hang out with because he had so much spice and so much character. So many quirky comments like, "don't forget to reread for details" and then sigh in defeat as if he missed his chance. Did you know he taught Edd how to dance? That was fun, they stayed up playing just dance all night until Matt "got tired" of his "moves." Edd later told him a story about how he danced to a lame anime song to make Tord laugh.

    Now Tord was the oddity even to Matt, the boy just never seemed to take care of himself and Matt didn't understand why! Everyone deserved a little self-care every once in a while, and that's why Matt gave him the chapstick. Gosh, had it all been that long ago? He hadn't seen Tord in a long time since he fell, he should be okay, right? Edd and Tom don't talk about Tord around Matt since he asked them where the strawberry blonde was. Neither happened to know, but that was okay. As long as he was okay, right? Matt had no clue on how everything would be if his close friend never returned or what if Tord came back and never remembered him? That sounded like a living nightmare to have a friend so close to just simply forget him. Tord would never do that, he'd vanish for a while but he will always come back with a wide smile and a listening ear. 

     Maybe Tord is just a tad upset still after his dispute with Tom. He wasn't aware what actually happened between the duo and the only part he remembered was pushing a sandbag on a man who made Tord cry. He was hardly able to see Tom in the crowd of grey dress people- gosh did they know anything about fashion? At the moment, Matt was mad that anyone would make his friend appear so hurt even if he couldn't exactly hear what they were saying. He knew deep down that Tord was a good friend and he didn't deserve to be treated the way displayed there. When he pushed the bag, the girls on the roof had cheered with him and called him a good friend for sticking up for his friends, and it made their attention a million times more of a hassle.

     He saw them in the halls shortly before that, their interaction brief and quick, "Hello Todd, Tim!" He felt a migraine all of a sudden, oh, it's most likely nothing. Matt shrugged it off and smiled at his close friends.

    "Tord."

    "It's Tom."

     That's what he said, right? "I saw you outside! You're welcome for the help!" He was about to ask what was going on but the migraine became worse. Seriously, he's fine. There is absolutely nothing to worry about. He only cared to see Tord's quick nod and Tom's grumble. "You ruined the outfit I picked!" Matt gasped, staring at the torn shreds of the once beautiful blue shirt and silk tie Matt knew Tord would just love. The duo was staring in disbelief, "What?" He watched as Tord mouthed something to the tattered man, and Tom only jerked away with a grunt. Something seemed so familiar, but a migraine came along again and Matt was forced to try and push it aside. But thanks to the pain, Matt couldn't hear a single word either spoke when they addressed him again, "okay!" Was all he managed to get out before leaving the two alone. He hoped they hadn't asked for anything important.

    He returned back downstairs that night to find Edd panicking, rereading the past over and over- "Matt!" He cried in panic, running over to grasp his friend on the shoulders, "where are Tom and Tord?" Edd looked frantic, looking down at the journal he held. Suddenly Edd realized something and a pained expression crossed his face, "nevermind, help me find Tom." The green man grabbed Matt's hand and dragged him back into the dance room as a familiar song began to play and Edd began to panic more. Classrooms lined the open dance space on either side, so anyone could look up and peer into the classrooms to see- wait what? Were Tom and Tord fighting? Tom appeared to be screaming, and Tord kept backing up and kept his mouth sealed.

    "Edd are they okay?" Matt pulled at his dark purple bowtie so it wouldn't choke him as he stared up at the room. He watched Tom eventually vanish from the room and Tord remained standing for a good while. "Edd?" He repeated, looking back at his brown-eyed friend. 

     Edd was smiling.

     Matt felt uncomfortable and didn't know what to say in response to the odd expression as another migraine hit him. "Hey, Edd?" He pulled at the man's brown jacket this time, "I need a drink of water or something." Edd was too busy grinning at the depressing sight of Tord above, the nasty gloomy aura having no effect o Edd's excitement. "Okay then..." The pain was getting worse and Matt held his head as he walked off to grab a drink.

     To his surprise, Tom had walked up when he finished gulping down his second water in attempts to suppress the migraine he had at the moment. "Tim!" He cried with glee. "It's nice to see you!" He felt the pain slowly vanish. Tom was his absolute idol, and how Tom saw him meant absolutely everything to the ginger. He didn't want to lose such a meaningful friendship, well, companionship? Did Tom even like him? "How are you," he began, "did everything go well despite the mess?"

    Tom sat back and gulped, adjusting his collar and sitting up to stare into the crowd of dancing children, "I kissed my own devil on the lips, and it tasted like death."

    "Oh silly, Tord wears raspberry! I didn't know you hated those." He didn't fully understand what Tom was saying, everything was becoming slightly more blurry every moment. He couldn't remember where he was for a moment or who he even was. Tom only jerked back with a hiss at the devil's name, a grown escaping shortly after. Matt only looked down at Tom and just smiled with bright teal eyes that lit up more once Edd had arrived. "Edd!" He cheered from joy.

    Tom only stared at his oldest friend, jumping out of his seat to collapse his arms around Edd and grip tightly. Matt couldn't tell if Tom was crying, saying silent or speaking. The migraine was too much and it was far too loud to even dare to attempt asking, so Matt kept to himself and just smiled at the other two boys. He watched Tom cling tightly to what seemed like his only lifeline, Edd unfazed but seeming to expect this. Edd wrapped an arm under Tom to hold him up, face how red and tears now exposed to the real world, horns and sharp teeth still hidden from the public eye. Edd nodded his head slightly at Matt as the other understood the memo and followed Edd as he led Tom out of the building. The rest he couldn't remember at all and every time he tried, pain overwhelmed him. Maybe Tom would tell him one day. 

     Only part where memories came back was when Matt had another arm around Tom's waist to help Edd guide the shredded man to the car. The parking lot was crowded now, and the three could care less and just wanted to get home. 

    "Look! There is a boy on the roof!"

    Matt was the first to look up and his mouth opened with pure shock and fear.

    "Is that the boy who wears the trench coat?"

    Edd raised his head next and seemed entirely unfazed.

    "Oh my god Paul, he's going to jump!" That one was Tord's taller father, running in a familiar grey uniform, "TORD WAIT!" He cried in agony, the shorter one following after with terror in his eyes. "PLEASE GOD NO, PLEASE TORD, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS!" his voice was scolding, Patryck gasping between words as the waterfall of tears stained his cheeks. He didn't want his son to pick up his aspect of himself.

    Tom didn't look up until everyone gasped and the bone-chilling crack was heard as Tord's body met with the concrete. Matt and Tom in shock and horror at what they had just seen, while Edd remained offly calm. "Come on, guys, let's... get in the car." 

    As soon as Matt sat down in the back seat, Edd smiled at him, and Matt had already forgotten everything.


	3. Bloo Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom's POV of the dance... and what happened.

    Everyone knew one thing about Tom was that he never forgot anything. The prime example of this case would just so happen to be the fatal day.

    He was running around chasing his older friends (who he hadn't spoken too in years) when a young man in a grey suit and blonde hair approached him asking if he could talk to Tom for a moment. The boy claimed to be friends with Tord, so Tom couldn't help himself but agree. He couldn't be on the bad side of his boyfriend's friends, right? He followed the boy out just to have his head grabbed by another man in a grey suit and his head smashed up against a locker until he fell limp.

    "Leader said he wanted this boy alive!" The blonde snapped.

    "Adam, relax. It doesn't matter. He's going to die anyway." the other unknown voice mumbled, their hand roughly gripping his upper arm to begin dragging him down the hallway. 

    "Daniel you can't be serious."

    He was terrified of what was to come, he felt restrained and the voices of what appeared to be soldiers scattering around him. He felt like he was there for hours as his head spun on, only the sound of a door opening was enough to give Tom the strength to look up to see the face of a horrified Tord and the old leader of that rouge army. Was this what he waited his entire life to see? That's what it felt like, and the beast began to rise from within.

    All this time, Tord was apart of that stupid army. He WAS a communist! He called it! He should have never entered a relationship with this... this freak! He felt so much anger, all the time he put into a man he hardly knew- a man who lied to him! He wanted to shift then and there and rip into Tord, he really damn well should have.

    He couldn't hear a word, he could only see Tord holding a gun to his head and then the shift began. Everything happened so fast, an object fell from the sky, soldiers scattered, then Tord and himself were suddenly running deep into the school. They stopped to catch their breaths and somehow Matt magically appeared.

    "Hello Todd, Tim!" Matt smiled, seeming to perk up slightly in excitement. Tom made a face at the name, confused as to why Matt would make a mistake like that again. A human being can only take so much- ah... well, Tom wasn't exactly human now was he? Neither was Tord for that matter- Tord was the devil in flesh.

    Tord was rather annoyed and replied "Tord" rather bluntly as if his name being said wrong offended him. Tom watched as Tord's face looked away as if to check for anyone coming, and the blue one was too irrational to catch that.

    "It's Tom." He followed, did he really just-? Ugh! He hated Tord so fucking much- did he just...? His stomach felt tight.

    Matt didn't apologize while instead he just shook his head and kept his casual smile, "I saw you outside! You're welcome for the help!" Tom couldn't help but grumble at the comment. You saved me from my own mess, just remind me, will you? "Ah-! You ruined the outfit I picked!" Tom looked down at himself, ripped to shreds and partially bloody. Yeah, that's all Tord's fault, wasn't it? He really wish he could dig his claws into the red man's guts and eat- He hadn't noticed he'd been staring at Matt and Tord made a disgusted face. "What?" Matt's voice pitched and Tom couldn't help but to cringe away from it.

    Tord pulled lightly at his arm to grab Tom's attention, mouthing "we don't have much time." Was that all he could think of? Just kill him here and now, Tord! As if you made him want to live any longer. How messed up in the head do you have to be, Mr. Red? Tom jerked his arm away and held it close to his own stomach. Something about this felt... strange. 

    Tord coughed awkwardly and pressed at his chest to block the emotional void slowly beginning to grow. "Ah, Matt..." he began and paused just as quickly, eyes moving from Tom to the ginger friend. "We're being followed by soldiers. I need you to find Edd and get out of here as soon as possible, okay?" Tord's voice was rather relaxed as Tom assumed he lied, he was going to kill Matt too! Tom didn't have time to respond before Matt smiled an "okay" and ran off to leave the two alone.

    "Fucking asshole!" 

    Tord just glanced at him.

    "Who's next? Edd?" Tom didn't realize he was shouting.

    Dull eyes stared directly at Tom, blinking with no emotion but millions of words. Shoulders relaxed, eyes piercing, posture perfect- he was an emotionless void. Tord could never be happy, and Tord was using Tom the entire time. Tom felt gross as bugs began to crawl under his skin. He tried to leave but was grabbed by Tord again and practically dragged Tom down the many endless halls and into an upstairs classroom that rested just above the dance and locked the door. Great, now no one can get in to help me, Tom thought. 

    "What the hell was that?" He snapped the music from below booming and vibrating through the floor as his favorite song began to play. It was a song that matched the story to the movie on his first date with Tord- and now that memory was nothing but toxic. He threw his arm out in anger and began to scold Tord for what just happened, "what kind of sick game is this?" 

    The song thumbed on as he screamed, Tord flinching every now and then or looking down at the gun. This was a different aura that the red man gave off, something Tom never saw before and it made him feel.. guilty. A demon spoke in a voice mocking Tord's, he loves you and you treat him with rage? Classic stupid Tom! It laughed, husky and smoke loaded. Questions spilled from his mouth and angry slurs all until he pulled his hair and screamed in terror when the choirs ended, "You just WANT me dead! Fucking god. I hate you!" 

    He watched Tord take a step back, beautiful eyes big and bright. He loves you more than anything he's ever had because all he's had is nothing. Tom hated this voice, he wanted to suffocate it and eat it too. He started shouting questions and noticed this time each one stabbed harder than the last time he said it. Tom was barling holding himself together and could feel sharp teeth ripping out of his gums. "Just leave, Tord." Grey eyes stared back at him. "Don't ever come back." He swung an arm out.

    Tom listened to the sweet lyrics of the beautiful song as it played, his thoughts walking with it. 

 

I know you don't but I, I know you don't but I still try.  
My thunder shook him down, my thunder came and shook him down.

 

    He took a deep breath and spoke more, "Go to your sick army friends and tell them how much of a sick and twisted person you are." It was over, he broke up with Tord and now he had to move on, Edd's words were right. He couldn't make it with Tord no matter how hard he tried. At this point, Tom wishes he would have listened to his friend as he left Tord alone in that classroom. He was surprised Tord didn't follow him but at this point, he could care less about how Tord felt. The man nearly killed him, for fuck's sake! 

 

That girl is gone but I, that girl is gone but I still try.  
I think it's over now, the bullet hit but maybe not.

 

    This song was making the urge to shift even worse. His pace became a sprint as he bolted down the hall and do the dance room in a desperate attempt to find Edd. The next words to the song played closer to heart than he would have thought, but he couldn't place them just yet as he fell into the daze. He panicked as he drifted closer, rushing his way to the drink table where a familiar ginger appeared.

    It was happening, he was beginning to shift. The sharp horns started to push from his skull in a sharp pain, no no no, he thought. He can control this! He knows he can, maybe this one time.

    You? The demon hissed. You can't do anything without Tord at this point. It was right, Tom felt disconnected without Tord. He felt... empty, and he hated it. He wanted to be independent, and not surround his entire life around a man that possibly didn't even love him! No matter what the voice said, it made Tom sick to his stomach to think of Tord having a single emotion at this point. He was just so scared, and angry. Matt's questions weren't helping either, so to all of them he just replied: "I kissed my own devil on the lips, and it tasted like death." 

    "Oh silly, Tord wears raspberry! I didn't know you hated those."

    He hissed at the name, as if the name were satanic or evil, the hiss ending with a low animalistic growl. Matt's expression hardly changed and the beast eased off as Edd arrived.

 

I feel so fucking numb, it hits my head and I feel numb  
My body's looking wrong, my body's looking wrong...

 

    Tom didn't listen to what Edd was saying, but ran to pull the green friend into a tight hug as he whispered, "help me." It only took a moment before Edd understood and both of his friends took him outside again where no eyes could watch. All the soldiers were inside looking- and any out here would face his wrath. As soon as Tom was released, the beast ripped from his skin and unleashed its howl. Tanned skin turning to a deep purple as his hands grew to bare claws sharper than any blade. The beast dived into the nearest car and destroyed it, letting the anger it had to go into tearing that car apart thinking it was... him.

    He stopped and calmed down. 

 

My body's looking wrong...

 

    Looking back at the memory of the dance was distasteful, because it reminded him Tord was dead now, and it was all his fault. He really did love Tord, and after some thinking realized... it wasn't Tord's fault. A year after the dance and hiding from soldiers, he sat down with another old childhood classmate, Jon. He wasn't particularly friends with Jon, but he was good company ever since he moved next door with Eduardo and Mark. Edd hadn't quite noticed they moved in just yet, but with Edd and Eduardo's past rivalry, he was sure it was bound to happen eventually.

    "So you guys also know of that... army?"

    Jon stared at the menu before looking back up at Tom with a usual snort, "Eduardo never stops talking about it. He studied it for ages and never realized your friend Tord was a part of it. He assumes Tord's parents killed his mother." Tom didn't know much about Eduardo other than his father was a rich businessman who held his son to high expectations, so Eduardo strived to meet them.

    But those details didn't exactly help him, he needed details on Tord. "Did he learn anything about Tord?" 

    "Oh, yes."

    "Two hot chocolates, double the foam, one with fudge?" A voice spoke as it arrived, placing the warm drinks in front of the blue duo. "Anything else I can get for you?" He knew this one, it was one of the roommates he was just thinking of-

    "We need more time, thanks, Mark." Jon smiled, the blonde smiling back and walking off. You know, when they weren't around Eduardo, these two weren't half bad. Well usually at least. "Back to Tord, I recall Eduardo saying he was being raised to be a weapon for the army's master plan. He was abused and tormented to fit the part."

    Distasteful, but Tom finally understood. Tord was scared just like he was, and the demon he heard that day was right. Tord had absolutely nothing to his name, except Tom. He jumped because he thought nobody cared because his life meant nothing to him. It really was all Tom's fault! If only he knew what was going on at home, he would have never treated Tord the way he had. He was sorry, but he can't tell Tord that, he's gone.

    "Tom?" Jon looked worried, and Tom finally noticed that his cheeks felt wet. "You're crying, are you okay?"

    He wasn't and never would be from this point on, "I just learned I was responsible for my boyfriend's death." He had forgotten Jon wasn't there that night and hadn't heard anything about them being a couple.

    Jon through a hand to cover his mouth as he spoke, "Oh god Tom, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. You must have been heartbroken..." Seeing someone else feel bad for him only made it worse, now he wanted to drink and drink until the pain was finally gone. 

    "I loved him, Jon." I love you, he thought, if only you reached out to me and weren't so afraid of hurting me.

-◇-

    "See what happens?" a red hand held his skull in place, forcing him to stare at the sight of the boy in the blue hoodie crying. "You don't want this to happen again, do you?" Hand's began to crush his visor, the screen cracking until it became blurry and errored out.

    "No Sir."

    The hands released, and a sickening laugh echoed from his chest. "Good boy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna write more of the neighbors now


	4. Airplane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paul tells a story that Tord should of heard earlier

    Paul rested next to the hospital bed with ease, sitting down in a chair with his body leaned against the frame and pulling at his own hair. This wasn't just anyone sitting on the bed in front of him, it was his own son. He never thought that after all those years both Patryck and himself would fail Tord like this.

    "You know," Paul mumbled to the unconscious boy, "Patryck tried to jump too when he first came here. Something about... nightmares." Paul ran a hand through Tord's strawberry blonde hair and watched his chest rise and fall too. "He was so afraid they would come true. He didn't know where he'd end up."

    "We were both pretty young, and fresh out of our homeland. Our accents were heavier than they are now and it made us comfortable with each other. Well, made him comfortable around me. Patryck was picked straight up a year or two after me as a prisoner. He was given the choice to join or die, and you could see where he went, huh?"

    He looked back up at Tord's heart rate monitor, checking for any changes or abnormalities in the record. He was just a kid, let him live! Please, the couple needed him. His friends needed him and they think he's dead! He might have been a strange boy but that doesn't mean he deserved death!

    "Patryck was afraid for his life, each day was rough on him as if it was his last. When he made it through his training they partnered him with me because I was basic meat to them. If Patryck was lying about wanting to join and killed me, it wouldn't matter. Turns out Pat took a liking to me after the first month of being partners. We became best friends until that night where I saw him staring out as the sun began to rise. He was so beautiful and his smile was priceless."

    Paul pulled away from Tord and stood up, letting the blood rush to his legs as he paced back and forth. This wasn't a story he talked about all too much.

    "I didn't bother to ask why he was smiling. I just was so excited to see him smile after weeks of hearing him vent about his nightmares, which I neglected to listen to. I just couldn't believe how one pretty boy had me on my knees for his smile. I wanted to help him smile every day of his life. Apparently making someone happy was a lot harder than I thought."

    No changes yet, Tord was still showing signs of digging up 6 feet of dirt.

    "The day carried on before I realized something wasn't exactly right with Patryck. I was a bit of a jerk to him then, so I brushed it off and didn't care. Turns out, later that night he was going to jump off the base roof. I wouldn't have known if someone with a black trench coat didn't come shaking me all up late that night telling me about it. I ran to the roof barely dressed in proper uniform and there he was."

-◇-

    "Patryck!" He cried as he ran to the roof, the wind and rain buckled down on him, while luckily there was no thunder, the threat of slipping and falling on his ass was high. This couldn't be happening, he scoped out the roof and desperately tried to find his way. "PATRYCK!" He screamed through the beating rain, squinting his eyes until finally he could see his partner turn and stare at him with wide eyes. Good, Patryck hadn't jumped yet! There was still time!

    "P-... Paul?"

    Patryck was there, he was alive. He was okay, well maybe not okay but he was alive and Paul still had the chance. The shorter man ran to the other in distress and pulled him into a tight hug, Patryck left dazed and confused. "Please," he begged, "please don't leave me. I need you in my life. I don't know why I do, or why you're doing this, but please I need you with me!"

    Patryck didn't say anything.

    "Y-you might think you're alone, you're not! Patryck I-I'm right here! I love you!" What. "I love you, please don't do this."

    "Paul."

    Paul stared up into the rain, into those beautiful blue eyes that hid the suffering of the man before him. "Y-Yes?" He couldn't lose Paul, he just couldn't. He'd give his own life before he'd let anyone touch Patryck. The rain suddenly felt forgiving with Patryck's gaze, like Paul's whole world hit and began to revolve Patryck's beaming light.

    "I love you too."

-◇-

    The nurse came in so he had to stop and step away from Tord as she changed his IV cleaned things up. Usually, Paul did it, but he was so consumed in his story he completely forgot. "Sorry." He mumbled as he sat down on the chair provided in the room. Usually, Leader wasn't this nice to his soldiers, private emergency care rooms usually were only for higher-ups- unless Leader considered Tord to be a higher up. Paul couldn't help but make a face at that because it wasn't very likely. Leader just wanted to salvage Tord if he could. Leader hated to restart failed projects, that's just how he was.

    He made a face once the nurse left, returning back to Tord's side and gently took up the boy's hand and held it, remembering the boy when he was a toddler and holding Patryck's or his own hand for support... it was so perfect.

-◇-

    Everything changed for Patryck and Paul after that. Patryck came out to Paul about his nightmares and other issues,  clearly relieved to finally be talking them out with someone. Neither actually talked about the... confession part yet. Well, they tried too but it became super awkward and Paul always made excuses not to get lost in those pretty eyes. Eventually, that wouldn't be enough anymore, he'd want more and more of Patryck's attention and it stressed him out. He was just so perfect at every angle in every way. Often times, he found his mind drifting to places that made him wake up with a sweat and sighing in distress that it wasn't real. He couldn't do this anymore, he couldn't set aside and watch but he was so afraid of rejection. He didn't care if he was miserable, it was more he was afraid if he asked he'd ruin their relationship.

    "Paul!" Laughed the taller soldier one early morning. "I got your letter!"

    What... what letter? "Pat it's 6 am and it's my day off... what are y-"

    "I'd love to go on a date with you! I didn't know when you'd ask me!"

    Paul didn't know what he was talking about, his eyes suddenly wide with surprise. "Really?" He stammered on his own excitement, "I thought you wouldn't be interested and-" Patryck sat down next to Paul and put his hands on the other's cheeks and squished lightly, "what are you doing?"

    "Paul," He began with a wide smile, "I told you I love you. Why wouldn't I be interested?"

-◇-

    Paul combed out Tord's hair for yet another time, enjoying how it still stayed extremely soft and in shape since Tord fell. "We were together for two years before we found you in Norway." He remembered the crash, and how... odd it occurred. Yes it had always been a curse that Patryck refused to believe was an actual curse, but if that 'curse' never happened would Tord be dead right now? Where would his son be? It's so strange how life goes, and it forces one to deal with it. "I asked him to marry me, and you remember that I'm sure."

    He looked out the room window at the infirmary staff, quickly passing past each other with slight nods and slight chit-chat. Paul hummed, standing up to step away from Tord and step outside onto the balcony that was with the room. He needed a smoke break, his mind buzzing with discomfort. He fumbled to pull out a cigarette and a lighter, staring back at Tord. Watching the air force his chest to rise and fall ever so slowly yet unnaturally. I'm sorry, Paul thought, I should have let Patryck run away with you. He could have provided Tord a more fulfilling life where he wouldn't try to escape to heaven. He lit the cigarette, just another day closer to his death is what these dammed things were. "I'm sorry, Tord." Here is the thing about people like Tord and Patryck, you don't just tell people like them it's their fault. Leader said that it was Tord's choice to jump and he wasn't anywhere responsible for his attempted suicide. Sometimes it was best to own up to the mistakes one makes and learn from them. Leader didn't even try to learn, he didn't care. On the other hand, Tord's entire relations were suffering. Adam was going through huge regret about the note he delivered to Leader from that boy in green, Daniel ran away from his guilt and hasn't been seen in a while, Patryck started drinking, Tord himself was sitting on a hospital bed stripped of humanity, and his friends must spend hours staring at the places Tord used to fill thinking their best friend was dead. As far as Paul knew, none of these people were truly at fault. It all boiled down to what Leader was trying to push on a young boy. There it was. All the built-up anxiety he'd been holding.

    Paul began to cry, his thoughts were conflicting. He was angry, and he'd admit that. He was angry Tord didn't come to him, but he knew he couldn't expect that of someone so lost. Some of them need some to come to them, like Patryck. Patryck needed Paul at that moment, and Patryck was lucky he had someone so loving and forgiving that would case him to the end of time and back. He'd take the bullet before he'd let anything happen to Patryck. Maybe he should risk it and pull the plug without warning, and let Tord go to the place he wanted to. Set him free from the slumber he'd possibly never awake from. N̸̙̾e̷̦͘v̴̓ͅe̵̢̅r̶̳̂?̶̯̐

    Paul turned his body back to face away from Tord, then leaned his elbows on the balcony and sighed, to take a drag just as the sun began to set. He suddenly didn't feel right, but a bubble grew at the base of his throat as he began to violently c̶o̸u̴g̵h̸. I'm sorry, it wasn't his fault. Stomach acid began to burn at his throat, dropping the cigarette as his hands gripped tightly to the railing. I'm sorry. He covered his mouth with one hand as he started to g̸a̷g̴ ̴u̵p̴ ̷b̷i̶l̶e̶, s̷̭͋p̶̿͜i̴̥̓l̵̢̾l̷̪̚i̵̹̓ñ̴͓g̶̈́ͅ ̵̦͠f̶͇̂r̴̢̒o̵̲͗m̸̞͌ ̷͓̍h̸̉ͅi̷͎͆s̷̯̽ ̵̧̽ḧ̷̞́a̴͓͛n̸̝͊d̶̗̾s̴͕ ̷̣͌a̴̛̖̞̐͆͂̋̈́̒͊̋n̴̲̫̱̙̓͂̈́́́̈͝͝d̸̟̯͇̍͑ ̶̨̣̣̟̱̈͜t̶̺͉̤̩̭̔̈́̈́́͐͝ô̴̧̹̗͉͎͗͋̓̔̀͆́̔ ̸͍̖͙̇̓̑̍̀͋͊͋t̸̹̅̇̈́̏́͆͝h̶̘̱̖̿̆e̴̡̢͙̣̟͕͖͍̓͑̃̽̑͠ͅ ̴͔̭͉̅̎͋͗̚b̶̨̛͓͍̤̿̅̔̓̅̕͝ḁ̷͇͈̇̇͠l̵̡̦̱̊̔c̸̮͕̖̟̞̺̥̿͌͜͠o̴̰͍̼̎̾̓͒̚n̶̗̺̞̱͙̓̽̾ỷ̴̤̿̈̓̓̽͘ ̴̱̠͎̻͙̬͆̆͐̆̐̈́̕f̶̢̢̹̜̬̹̖̓͒͘͠l̸̤̲͈͎̞̮͂̓̋̈́͝ǒ̴͈̹̱̘̍ͅơ̸̢̝͓̝̺̒̏̊̒̇͜ͅr̵̼̠̤̰̾̈́.̸͈̫͌̓́́ ̷̮͉̏͊͊

    "I'm sorry," he choked through the bile, "I'll never think of this again." He wasn't supposed to care about anyone other than P̵̘͝a̶͎̕t̶̼̊r̵̬̄r̷̭̒---- Tord. He shouldn't try to intervene with Tord's fate. He should of never thought that way, he's sorry, unruly god.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey !! bit of spoilers for later but I doodled the TSOP cast ! which shows the grey army uniforms
> 
> im going to redraw another w the teen outfits  
> https://stars-of-the-corridor.tumblr.com/post/178067568773/you-can-entirely-ignore-this-its-just-for-my  
> here ya go !!


	5. Night of Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For everyone wondering about the future, let's check up on Patryck.

    He remembered screaming bloody murder when he saw Tord jump, his blood ran cold and he felt empty inside. Everything he lived for tried to get away from him- had he been that terrible of a father to Tord? He was right, he should have run away with Paul and Tord and never came to this horrible place.

    When Tord fell, he fell on his chest. He shattered his ribcage and collapsed a lung, and multiple injuries were added to the list- but Tord lived. Some unforgiving god swung their talons at Tord and refused to let him escape the cruel life he didn't want. Paul spent a lot of his time with Tord in his hospital room, and Patryck did a lot of their duo missions alone. Which was a horrible reminder of the past that Paul formally saved him from. Now he was bound to nights full of nightmares until Tord finally woke up and recovered. But lately, for years, he wasn't showing any signs of recovery. Leader still persisted to have Tord on life support so he could salvage something from his 'hard work.'

    "Hey handsome, what's your name hm?" 

    Patryck almost forgot he began wasting his free time in bars trying to forget about Tord's state and look up to the future. But the anxiety was too much sometimes and the soldier fell into panic attacks if he wasn't piss-drunk, and as usual, he was at a bar for that exact purpose. It was common for random women to try and get in his pants- and quite frankly he wasn't interested in women nor cheating on his happy husband. "Go away, I'm not interested." He sipped from his glass and turned away as he grew more and more annoyed by this. 

    The stranger laughed and pushed closer, "you're playing hard to get, huh?" This one was touchy and pushy, gross. Fucking Gross.

    "Sorry I don't think I was clear enough," Patryck turned to her and shoved her back by her shoulders, "I like dick too, Honey." He really should avoid physical contact when in a bar full of drunk people. The woman fell back into another and a catfight bloomed in the aftermath. Patryck ended up leaving that night with a scar across his cheek and one less bullet in his pocket. He really should spend less time in those places, he's wasted enough of his money on drinks that should be going to Tord's recovery- god had he already gone back to that? Face it, he thought, Tord is never going to wake up. 

-◇-

    Paul was happy to see his husband home and safe but went crazy over one tiny cut. "Who did this?" He demanded to know, "I'll kick their ass for hurtin' you, Pat." Paul's rough hands held onto Patryck's tightly, his dark eyes staring up at Patryck with concern and worry. There wasn't another person who walked this hell of an earth that Paul would raise hell for other than his beloved husband. He meant the world to Paul, and Patryck knew that by heart.

    Patryck sighed, bringing Paul's hand to his lips and kissing softly as tears dripped from his cheeks. He missed Tord, he missed his entire life. Paul had been enough for so long but without Tord, something felt wrong between them. Their marriage turned to more of a coping tool over Tord than about the bond. Their son was a statement of their love, containing all of their hard work and efforts to keep him safe all these years. Sometimes, either parent would stand in front of Tord's bedroom door just staring, feeling it strange to have to turn around to go to the infirmary to see their son they couldn't speak too. 

    Bushy eyebrows lowered and Paul's frown formed as he leaned closer to his husband to listen to his beating heart. Patryck rested his chin on Paul's head and remained entirely quiet. Paul, on the other hand, began to hum lullabies. Lavender's blue, dilly dilly. Lavender's green... Patryck felt lost with the soft voice vibrating against his chest. 

    "Let's get to bed." He mumbled, ruffling Paul's hair and leading the grump to their shared bed. He released himself from the smaller man and plopped onto the bed, arms spread and eyes closed with a pained expression. Paul didn't seem to protest or argue with the strange behavior. Instead, he curled up next to Patryck and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, love."

    "Mm, goodnight, beautiful."

    Paul fell asleep before Patryck did, the taller man staring up at the fan for hours thinking. He remembered the nightmare he had years ago, was that really... Tord? Was it just a mangled expression? Sleepiness waved her hand over his eyes, darkness consuming him as he fell into yet another nightmare.

    This time he was laying on the ground, black brick walls surrounding him lit up by no presented light and a cold marble floor. A single door rested on the other side of the room, but there was no handle to get out. Now he was confused, this was a nightmare he hadn't seen before. Maybe it was calmer because Paul was finally sleeping at his side for once, but other than that it didn't make sense. Upon closer inspection, the walls were randomly covered with scratch marks. Wait no, they spelled a word that Patryck took several moments to read from the sloppy text.

    "Hail --- ------?" The door opened.

    Patryck turned to stare at the new figure in the doorframe and as it walked closer, it was so hard to make out exactly what and who it was other than it had a robotic arm that glowed dimly in the light. "You're here. I'm surprised how long this took." A Norwegian voice husked out. 

    Patryck knew the voice and knew the name. "T..." He didn't want to believe it, "Tor-" The shadow emerged from the light with anger, metal arm grabbing Patryck's chin and crushing down on it.

    "It's --- ------ to you, Soldier." 

    Patryck realized he wasn't in his normal clothing, he was in a purple hoodie and green overcoat. He tried to fight, his head spinning as the pain on his jaw became worse and suddenly just stopped. 

    Now he was in a green hoodie, and a black overcoat, staring himself in the mirror. Why couldn't he stop crying? Why was he feeling so empty? What was this world? What was... he? Help me help me help me hel̴p̵ ̷m̶e̵ ̵I̶ ̸l̵o̴v̴e̷ ̵h̸i̶m̶-- I̷̱͔͉͝͠ ̴̣̣̲̿̊̃ͅn̵̠̱̓̄e̴͖̘̋ẻ̴̡̬̜̎̌d̷̨͈̹̭̋ ̷̠̃̅́̌ȟ̵̪̘̗̚ȋ̶͔̞̫̳m̴̡͈̐̂ͅ.̸ Patryck found himself stumbling backward into the darkness behind him, crying and mumbling he was sorry even if he didn't exactly know why. Tord's laughter echoing in the background them followed by the sounds of a chanting army.

    He fell.

    He was falling.

    Now he was in blue, a button-up shirt covered in markings. A silky sky blue tie and black vest, this one he remembered because of the tie and suddenly he felt sick. His arms were covered in stitches, bites, scars, bruises, cuts... he was about to throw up, shaking his head violently to escape this dark dream. He picked up his weight and began to run, feeling confused and heavy, as if he were- he slipped.

    He woke up but not in the way he hoped, this time he was in what appeared to be some sort of uniform. "PATRYCK" written in neat letters on the nametag, white bandages wrapped around his chest and a blue coat. He was in a plane wreck, and he could see a figure that looked like Paul in the distance calling for him. The other was... him. Undamaged, bright golden eyes piercing through even the flames. He didn't understand these sick dreams, he was so confused and scared, this was all happening so fast. He tried to run to the voices but got himself consumed in flames.

    When the flames settled he was sitting in the same uniform, but in a rather strange office he had never seen before. In front of him was that... that monster again. Next to the figure was what appeared to be Paul, but w-

    "You are disrupting my time, Patryck." The demon growled, "you are to wake up, leave this body and heed these rules." The man with the mechanical arm began to walk towards him, Patryck taking desperate steps backward to get away. "You will never question or stand in Tord's way."

    Patryck nodded as he tripped over a chair and fell to the floor, still staring up at the demon looming above. Red Leader, as it called itself. It pulled up at Patryck's collar and brought the man face to face with the demon- and he could feel it's breath. The Paul in the background reached out worriedly as the demon raised a metal fist and brought it down. Patryck didn't even feel it, he just woke up gasping for air. He pulled up and away from the formally sleeping Paul, holding his throat as he felt restricted by the demon that controlled every nerve in his body.

    Patryck's jerks awoken his beloved, Paul shouting on shock when his body was so roughly moved around. "Patryck," he yawned and rubbed at his eyes. "What's wrong. Are you crying? It's 4 am, babe." Paul moved closer to comfort the crying man, he'd seen this all before and knew if he stayed quiet that Patryck would eventually vent and speak his mind. That didn't happen this time, he felt as if he had to push for it a little. Meanwhile, Patryck felt as if the walls were dripping with blood and his sweat, the humidity growing heavy on his skin even as Paul drew closer to his lover. 

    "Patryck?"

    He began to rock back and forth, fears beginning to stream as he mumbled the words he saw written among the walls. Patryck buried his face in his hands, voice scared for the future.

    "Hail Red Leader. May his reign save us all."

-◇-

    The next day was different. Paul wasn't going to ask Patryck about his nightmare until Patryck was ready to talk about it. That's how it usually was with the couple anyway. But the night that occurred shook everyone in the base. Everyone was packing up and getting ready to retire, the infirmary staff already closed up for the day to let their patients rest the night under Leader's order. Patryck and Paul were cleaning up the stage room, where a lot of Leader's speeches were held at or soldiers passed through to get to other divisions and... Patryck couldn't help but remember his feeling from last night. The feeling of walls closing in and envisioning the blood beginning to drip down. It only made his anxiety worse.

    "This sucks, I wish we got better jobs sometimes," Paul mumbled as he was picking up stray papers and tossing them into the bag he held.

    Paul's anger was always amusing, Patryck smiling and giggling at the misfortune, "quite frankly I enjoy cleaning duties. They make me comfortable and happy.

    Everyone else was casual up until hallway doors leading to the infirmary opened, gasps of soldiers and curious eyes looking at the sight. Paul couldn't believe what he was seeing, and Patryck couldn't think anymore. His mind became entirely blank. There he was,  in his hospital gown and emotionless grey eyes.

    Tord was finally awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edd can't wait to say hello!


	6. Coka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He really does love Tord you know... he just has a funny way of showing it.

    I should spend less time in bed, Edd thought as he curled tighter to the blanket, sulking won't bring him back. It's been a few years since he watched Tord jump from the school roof and Edd was still blaming himself. He shouldn't have been such an asshole and he regretted every single word he said that could have possibly led up to Tord jumping. Was he really that horrific of a friend? Man, He didn't think it'd be that bad. Lately, Edd strived to be happy so he could keep his world together. That didn't mean to stop being himself, just be more jovial and not so shut off. He couldn't lose another friend, not again.

    His green hoodie laid on the back of his suitcases and sprawled onto some boxes as regret filled him even more. He was going to ask Tord once they were all finally on their own to live as roommates with the other boys. Matt and Tom were already coming with and would move in the day after Edd but that didn't stop the thought of what if he was with them too. He couldn't let his friend see how he felt because they would know Edd was letting emotions get to him. 

    It was about time he moved on from Tord's suicide. To him, his friend was in a better place and be had to be happy for him. Only if Tom accepted the same way of thinking maybe the blue man would be a lot happier too. Edd had been trying for months to make him happy and he just kept failing over and over, trying to explain that maybe it was time to move on and not drown himself in his bottles. Their friend was in a better place, or at least Edd hoped so. What was Edd supposed to do? He looks up, sighed lightly and begȧ̷̻͆̽̕n̶̯̞͍̻͊͘͝͝ ť̶̠̰͖͔̘̮͚͎͔̩̒̏̓́͐̌̚ó̵͕̳͐͌̕ ̷̪̥̞̝͑̀́t̶̡̜̦͈͔̖̤͔̱͒̊́̽̅̑é̶̟̮͔ͅà̴̢̐̍͋r̵̡̝̱͙̞͚̀ͅ ̵̨͋̒̌́̏̐̉̀͝ͅ a̴̧̲͓̬̝̣̖̒͋̃̅̽̿̋̃̽̊̽̑͠ͅţ̶̛͎̮̭̳̣͖̰̤̼̟͙͕̲̠͍̳͇̬̯̺̫̠̮̑̀̑̃̇͆͑̆̓̕͝͠ ̴̢͈̠̅́̄̽̈́̄̓͘͠ṫ̵͔̪͉́͛͊̽̾̑h̶̪͍͔̠̥̰̲̲͍͙̠̻̲͕̯̫̞͚͖̓̂̀̆̾̄͋̿̚͜ͅe̴͖̮͚̱̳̱̬̝̤̠̣͎̜͖̔̽̎̓̀̂͊̀ͅ ̷̡̧̛̞͇̻̥̤͖͔̓̀͂͒͑̍̍̓͋̄̇͐̇́̀͐̕ţ̵̝̹̥͓͈̱̺̎̾̍͛́̀͐̄̑̿́̂͊̀͜͠ḛ̴͆̂̈́̇̀̚x̸̥̜̺̰̜̪̼̻̎̌́̔͌̑̈́̃ţ̶͚̹͎̮͉̯͈̬̯̦̥̙̻̲̹̏̒̋̄͗̇́̂̉̓̎̍̎̐͜͜͜͝͝ͅ.̵̬̋͋̓̋̀̏͛͌͒̿̔̈́̓͊̌͘͝͝͠--

 

    Ǒ̸̧̧̢̡̥̜̖̼̥̣͑̈́̀͌̈̌͘k̸̨̾̆͊́a̸̦̖̼͌̀̌̃͂̈́̔̌̈́͑͝y̷̡̯͙͔̯̝͙̬͈͕̲̤̅̏̓̔̾͌͐̎̈́́̓̕͜ͅ have I told you I hate people speaking for me?

    Wait, can you hear me? 

    C̴a̸n̷ ̶y̶o̵u̶ ̵hear me? Ah, that's better!

    Gosh, this must be so new to you. Let me introduce myself, I'm Edd! Well, not your Edd. The "TSOP!Edd" I've been labeled as by the writer. Isn't it funny how every moment of our lives can be controlled by just one simple person with too much control? I get the feeling, you know, this was supposed to be my world. I was supposed to be living a happy life drinking cola and relaxing with my three friends... two friends... is Tord a friend in the canon world? Gosh, I don't know the details.

    I'm so happy to finally talk to you, Reader. You won't believe how long I've waited for Tord to step aside and give me the spotlight I deserve in my own world. You know that, right? It clearly says EDDSworld in the tags, not TORDSworld... hey, I'm not being selfish! I just thought it was time for others to speak. 

    You must have so many questions for me! Oh, I'm so excited to talk to all of you finally! Reader, have you been thinking about what's been up with me, oh so many things! I'm happy some of you asked about me too, you're too kind!

    See, I haven't always been self-aware, because I wasn't always a thing. I didn't truly exist until Tord needed me to. I wasn't the Edd he needed until he was in dire need of it. I wish he was as aware as I am, but he's... perfect just the way he is. Oh? He jumped? Yeah, I remember that. Tom had broken up with m y Tord just a few moments before that and I couldn't be happier, I have a chance to have Tord all to myself. I could finally fix him to remove this nasty curse of Paradise! I could even do what the canon Edd couldn't, I can make Tord stay, with me. He'll be forever happy, with me! 

    Don't you want Tord to be happy? That̵'̵s̵ ̴w̵h̴a̷t̵ İ̸͈ ̷̤̆w̴̹̎a̶̠͝ṅ̴̹t̷̨̤̮̳̳̪̳̱̊͋̐̈́̌͆,̶̗̥̲͖̗̐̑͑̋̄ ̶̧̮͖̹̜̺͓̠̝̟̗̆̉̽R̵̨̖̬̥̗̲̖̄͛̑̌̄͗̉̓̎͑̕͝ę̶̧̨̰̥̘̖͕̔̾̑̍͋̉͜͜a̸̡̼̰̻̫͔̠͙̬͒d̵͔̗̺̗͂̈́͘͜͝ȩ̵̧̮̘̯͍̎̓̍̄̀̀̑̈́̑͜r̵̫̪͔̩̥̼̈́̂͛̅͂̿ͅ.

    I'm sorry, Reader. I just want him near, with him anything feels possible. The dance made me feel alive because now he's single, you know? My chance has finally arrived! I can have him and this sick side of Paradise could end! Sure, what happened to Tom sucks... and he had a monster load of things on his plate already. I saw in the story Tord was going to jump and I panicked, I tried to save him. As we came closer to the moment I realized something.

    This story is about Tord. 

    Like me, Tord will never truly die no matter how much he wants too. He's stuck here, with me, f̵̢̣̹̥̝̫̲͇͔̔ở̷͎̪͂̃ŕ̴̛͖͓͍͚̊͐́͝e̴̋̒́̋v̶̡͎̥̞̩̽̋̽̎̆͝ë̵̛͙́̈́͑̾̔r̴̢̩̾̅̏͛̅.

    Tom doesn't deserve such a powerful and beautiful man, Reader. He's a monster, he'll hurt my beautiful boy. I can't risk that, so I told Leader.

    Oh hush, I knew Tom would be fine. Yes, I can only see so far, but I also put Matt on the roof that night. I prepared all of this, even if that moment I couldn't exactly see for myself until the night of the dance. I slipped a note to Leader telling him that Tord was at the dance. That's not criminal, I don't care what you say! I mean, I didn't intend for Tord to jump when I first started planning, but it worked out for me. Tom is out of the picture, and pretty swell just relaxing at home. Matt is... his usual self. I've had no reason to help him see the way he should of in the first place. I feel bad for messing with him and using him to try and guilt trip Tord. But I need to keep him out of my way, who knows what would happen if this story got to him too? I almost let that happen before, I don't want that again. Remember when he asked Tord if he was blowing Matt and me off? Yeah, I'll never make that mistake again. Turns out our Matt is much smarter than he looks and it scares me. I can never let Tord open up to Matt, I can't repeat all of this over again and hurt two friends. If they really are my... friends. 

    I should let you go now, Reader. I think I've had my fill of words for one day, that and I think I've told you enough, I think you just want to get back to Tord and see how he progresses- that's the whole plot right? What even is the plot here? I sure don't know!

    Goodbye, dear Reader! 

    -h̸̨̧̛̛̰͕̮̝̹͈̜̦̉̾̍͐̂́̏̓͛̈̅̈̈́̏͘̕ȩ̸̳̘͔͚̹̞̩̊̓͌͐́̉̈́̆̀̀̐̏̆̓͊̿͘̚͘͝͝ͅ ̶̧̢̭̲͔̭͍̺̯̣̭͇̪̥̫̼̜̲̠̝̎̋̓́͐̈͊̋̈̽̆̏̐͌̄̃̌͑͛̓̇́̓͌̍̀̈́̾͋͐͌̈́̀͐̇̾͋̑̓̔̋̂̍͐̒̓̚̚̕͜͝͝͝r̸̻̞̤͐̅̋͌̅̓̊̊̄̎̊͛͘͠ḛ̷̛̛͖̻̠̘̼͈̬̣͍͑͆̓͊͆͛̋̅̆͆̈́̄͐̚̕̕͠l̷̢̬̲̦̞͍̳̄̀̄͂̅̓̔̊̇̄͛̕͠e̷̡͓̽̒̿͆͂̓͂̓̔̎̔̂̃͒̆́͋̄̐̌̈̽̈́̈́͌̂̄̀̄̽̃̍̾̽̎̈́̽͂̽̎̌̒͊͊̀̃͘͘̕͠͠͝͝a̴̧̢̛͖̙͎̖̠̘̫͚̗͕̗͇͚͎͕̖̮̲̜̥̗̰̱̳̗̺͔̹̤̪̘̣̠͖̲͓̝̟͎̩̬̯̗͌̽̐͛̃̅͂̄̂̊̈́̈́̒͋͛̐͌̌͗̌̚̚̚͜͜ͅͅs̸̨̱͍̟͒̅̂̄͑͆̒̒̋̈́̕͝ę̵̧̺̼͕͓̗̻̗̗̯̩͍̪͎̜͈̯̼̬̲̮̣̼̪͉̰̤͔̘͎̮̖̞͕̖̰̦͍̠̂̉̎͑̒͒͑̈́̐͐͜͜͠ḑ̷̨̨̢̛̳̥̳̰͓̳̩̪̘͈̘̱̙͉̣̭̜̖̠̙͓̥̻̪̦̫͓̦͋͋͒̑̿̓̇̑̃͑͂̈̿͋̌̿͜ t̵̡͙͉͎̺̿̕ͅh̵͈̻͉̘͗͂͒̔̽ȅ̴͚͆͂̀͛̈́ ̴̱̖͔̪͍̍͌t̷̪̻́͌͋̍̓̈́͊̕e̵̦͈̲͓͖̪̥͋̀̎̈́̕͘x̵̢̧͉͈͓͉͙̗̌͒͒̅̈͐͘t̴͙̣̖̭̖͗̾̕,̷̨̨̫̖͙̥̟̖̏͊͛͘ a̸n̷d̷ ̷s̴m̷i̸l̵e̶d̵,̸ he knew someting even the highest gods would never know or understand.

    Edd, unlike his friends, had finally understood Tord's situation and all he had to do was help his friends push past it and become happier. This is why everyone loved Edd, he was always able to see past anything in anyone! Maybe it was just a silly trick he had up his sleeve, or maybe that his friends magically made him feel stronger and more empowered. He looked up and over at the boxes, pushing his body to stand and roam to them. 

    "Edd! Your truck is here!" Two of his family members called, he didn't bother to check who because living with 12 brothers and sisters- you tend to lose yourself in them. He found his way downstairs, one of his older brothers helping him get his stuff outside without being asked, ah, this one was the twin. The twin was identical to the other, so Edd wasn't even going to dare to guess which twin it was. He was more consumed with the thought of finally moving out to live with his closest friends for the first time. Having a house he could call his own and drink as much cola as he pleased or eat MnM's, topped with whip cream and caramel sauce... it was finally up to him.

    Matt and Tom had more choices now too. I mean, Matt was always spoiled. But now Edd could take care of him, and Tom too. He could make sure his friends never escape his sight ever again and he was fully ready to take on those tasks. The future wasn't ready for Edd, but he was ready for it. Once the truck was loaded, Edd grinned from ear to ear. This was his. All his. The driver arrived rather quickly to take the small load of things away to the new house where Edd would happily spend the rest of his life. He waved his family one last goodbye as he himself hopped into his car and left as quickly as possible. Letting the old home vanish as he turned the block and began to follow his GPS to the new home. He ended up making it there just before the moving truck, and that was entirely okay with Edd.

    "Do you want help taking these things in?" It was a Norwegian accent and Edd felt his bones chill, but it wasn't who he hoped. It was an older gentleman with "DANIEL" written in sloppy letters. "Are you okay?"

    "I'm swell! Thanks for asking." He felt a slight bit of pain for this person, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it until... "did you know a boy named T-"

    "Tord Red? Yeah, I taught him to speak English. I heard on the news he died." Daniel replied with a rather blunt statement and blank eyes before returning to the truck's doors, "well if you don't need help I should get going. I'll pick up the trailer when you're done you're loading."  With that, the black-haired Norwegian man detached the trailer, climbed into the truck and took off. 

    Edd watched him leave with silent eyes. Even those who hardly mattered were affected by Tord's "death." He looked at the truck and then finally at his prized beauty.

    He mumbled the words with a giddy smile, hands shoving into the pockets of his hoodie and shoes making their hike up to the front door. Spinning the keys in his hands as he spoke to the sky. He knew in the end, the boy in the red hoodie will be all his. His. Nobody elses. He will be the new god.

    "Welcome home, R̷̢̨̢̛̘̹͍̤̅͆̀̓͛̎͝͝e̸̬̳̩̯̩͊̒̃͜a̷̤͈͔͖͗d̶̙̙͂̏ḛ̵̫̱͚̗͉̕ͅr̵̡̨̛̟̖̙̼͊͛̀̂̉͗̕."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Help us.


	7. When...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :)

Thank you for reading SAINTS. We hoped you enjoyed your time with us.

Please, return to "This Side of Paradise" if you'd like to read more. Remember, SAINTS began after chapter 12, is basicly chapter 13, and 14 will be coming out soon. BY THE WAY! I have an amino now so if you don't have an account with Wattpad or Quotev, you can now contact me there! http://aminoapps.com/p/4elbcrb is the link for my amino if you'd like to contact me there. Heck, I even have some of my art up there! If you don't already know my Wattpad, it's @/StarryCorridor! I made these accounts because I know everyone doesn't have an ao3.

All my remaining social medias will be on my profile later, so you can contact me anywhere you'd like ! <3 Thanks for reading!

With love,  
Pilot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear Little Red,
> 
> Run, run and never look back. I won't be writing you these letters any more because I know... I know he can see them. I'm afraid of him, little red.  
> None of us can escape his curse, but I promise we're going to be alright, my little rød. I want to know I have everything under control.
> 
> With my deepest sorrows,  
> Rє∂ Lєα∂єr.

**Author's Note:**

> :) Welcome back.


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